My Own Worst Enemy (song)

"My Own Worst Enemy"
Single by Lit
from the album A Place in the Sun
B-side	"Bitter"
Released	February 23, 1999
Recorded	1998
Genre	Pop punk power pop alternative rock
Length	2:49
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	A. Jay Popoff Jeremy Popoff
Producer(s)	Don Gilmore Lit
Lit singles chronology
"Bitter" (1997) "My Own Worst Enemy" (1999) "Zip-Lock" (1999)
Music video
"My Own Worst Enemy" on YouTube

"My Own Worst Enemy" is a song by the American rock band Lit. It was commercially released in 1999 as the lead single from Lit's second album, A Place in the Sun (1999). It is the band's signature and most popular song, making them one hit wonders. Lit had first formed over a decade earlier in Southern California, where they alternated between metal and punk early on. Later, the band secured a contract with RCA Records, who funded A Place in the Sun.^[1]

Considered pop punk, power pop and alternative rock, "My Own Worst Enemy" is, according to Lit guitarist Jeremy Popoff, "the result of waking up and realizing you screwed up the night before". Vocalist A. Jay Popoff said that the song "was the combination of many, many incidents"; he had gotten in trouble with the law for public nudity in the late 1990s, and sang "My Own Worst Enemy" nude in the studio. Popoff described a New Year's when the band got drunk in Laughlin, Nevada; he stole a janitor's cart, and he "and five friends jumped onto the flatbed, rode down the sidewalk, and got chased by the cops". Its music video was filmed by Gavin Bowden in a Long Beach bowling alley.

Critics appreciated "My Own Worst Enemy" for its simple arrangement and style. It became an airplay juggernaut; it hit number one in the U.S. on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Tracks, and was the top-played song of the year on that format. It still receives regular play on rock stations, and is among the most-played songs at karaoke events. In the present day, "My Own Worst Enemy" has been celebrated as a classic pop-punk hit. The song has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.